Sudden Communications Adds Microsoft Lync to Suite of Business Communication Solutions

An exciting new product, Microsoft Lync Server, offers businesses the most seamless integration of communications technology solutions ever presented, including enterprise voice, conferencing, and instant messaging. Microsoft Lync may well revolutionize the way your employees communicate with each other. Sudden Communications (www.suddencommunications.ca/products/microsoft-lync/) is working with clients throughout Vancouver to integrate this technology into their existing infrastructure.

 

Managing multiple platforms for multiple communications solutions has always been a frustrating and cumbersome experience in the workplace. Microsoft Lync brings consolidation and unity to solve that problem. Lync allows businesses to use instant messaging, voice, and conferencing of audio, video, and web all from one single easy-to-use interface!

 

Additionally, contacts for all of these communications tools are stored in the Lync server, saving significant time your employees may spend searching through an address book of one platform to use in another. You can now easily use your Outlook contacts across Lync applications, making life much easier.

 

Microsoft Lync is also compatible with Sharepoint in addition to Office, so you can increase productivity exponentially by linking up stakeholders across the country and around the globe. With Lync, you’ll find yourself collaborating more often and more effectively than ever before.

 

Another great aspect of Microsoft Lync is that it empowers you to customize your usage experience. The Lync interface can be embedded in another applications, so that these tools can be integrated with other frequently-used programs. The only limits to leveraging Microsoft Lync is your own creativity.

 

If you are ready to streamline communication and simplify sharing and collaboration, then you are ready to implement Microsoft Lync.

 

 

Beware of the 5 Communication Myths!

When it comes to dealing with problems or issues with others, we are likely to follow one or more of these solutions that are myths of communication–solutions that are touted as solutions but can actually cause horrible problems instead.

Myth #1: Time heals all wounds. The truth is time usually deepens wounds. If time really healed all wounds, people would not blame their behavior on their childhood and past events as they often do. In fact, time can deceive us into thinking that problems with others have been resolved, but all it usually takes is to see them again or something to remind us of the past unresolved issues and we will become upset all over again. In essence our unresolved past is lying around waiting to strike us in the present.

What to do? Don’t rationalize, “Well, they are not saying or bringing it up. So I will just let it go.” Just because they are not bringing it up doesn’t mean they let it go. They may feel awkward or embarrassed or may not know how to bring it up so they have decided to bury it. The key is to proactively bring up issues and resolve them.

Myth #2: Don’t Rock the Boat. The truth is if you don’t rock the boat, the boat will probably sink. Faced with an issue or problem that is bothering us, many people rationalize, “I am not going to say anything. It’s not that big a deal. I don’t want to rock the boat” The problem with this way of thinking is if we don’t say anything, the issue is unlikely to be resolved. Then what was once a small issue may fester and grow into a big problem. What to do? As stated above, proactively bring up issues as they happen.

Myth #3: Be Diplomatic. The truth is if we are too diplomatic, the person may not get the point and nothing may get resolved. Have you ever had someone be upset with you claiming that they told you about something and you did not do anything about it? Upon retrospect you realize that they might have brought it up but the person was so diplomatic, the person beat-around-the-bush and you missed the point. What to do? When we have an issue, yes-bringing things up in an understanding way is important, just make sure the issue and what you want done is clear.

Myth #4: Sandwich what you want to really say between two compliments. The truth is the “sandwich method” is so transparent that people immediately identify the strategy and feel manipulated. The sandwich method is when you place what you really want to say between two positive compliments. “I appreciate how hard you work, but blah, blah, blah… and thank you for working with me on this.” Such communication tricks can permanently damage relationships.

What to do? Tell people the truth. People are smart and we are usually lousy actors. People see through us anyway, so be honest and clear. If you have issues talk about them, get right to the point. When you have something nice to say, bring it up in separate conversation or at least in a different part of the conversation not connected to a problem or something we really want done.

Myth #5: More communication leads to resolution. The truth is just more communication can lead to wasting time and possibly more misunderstandings. Sometimes people believe and operate as if people talk about more things, that clarity will somehow magically emerge from the sheer volume of information and issues will get handled. But how often have you been in a meeting where people “talked about things” and nothing got resolved.

Consider this. If the solution were simply increased amounts of communication, wouldn’t you expect, for example that e-mail, cell phones, video conferencing to have significantly reduced communication problems? In spite of all of these extra tools now available, it seems there are more misunderstandings, mistakes and conflicts than ever before. And people still complain that they don’t receive the feedback they need to do their jobs properly.

In fact, communication technologies can also help people spread misinformation with blazing speed, sometimes with devastating results. Communication technology is not inherently bad. The way people use it is often ineffective. Increasing the amount of communication through multiple channels is not the answer in and of itself.

What to do? Instead of just increasing the amount of communication, make sure that people know how to effectively use the different ways to communicate. If learned, these methods can make the critical difference in successfully resolving issues as they arise.

Take Action

Pass this tip on to people you care about, your co-workers, your boss, your employees, family and friends. Use it as a basis to talk to the people around your office, in your organization and your personal life. Have an upfront conversation about the “myths of communication” and what everyone is willing to do differently. This way everyone will benefit from the knowledge and wisdom we all have to contribute.

If you need help and/or guidance call us, we can help.

Together we can make the difference!

Digital Telecommunication System, Mobile Telesystem & Wireless Communication Device

Sanchartelesystems is an ISO 9001:2000 certified Delhi based Telecommunication Company in India. It provides equipments like that Digital communication, Wireless communication, Mobile Telesystems.

Sanchartelesystems is a growing telecommunication company due to its best quality

Equipments and services. It provides all major communication equipments such as

Telecommunication system, Telecommunication equipment, Telecommunication hardware, Digital communication system, Digital communication tools, Digital communication technology, Wireless Device, Digital equipments, Mobile Telesystem and Network solutions.

Some specific products are:

Digital: Mirra Series 2, Nice Call Focus III.

Analog: Amateur Radio, Mobile Radio.

Accessories:M285S,MC-100,CP-22E,F22,BC-100,SX Series Power Meters,SX-100,SX-200,SX-400,SX-1000,CS-800 – Duplex Phone Patch and Repeater Controller, CSI MODEL CS-900 – Simplex Phone Patch.

It provides best quality products in the field of Telecommunication, Wireless communication and Digital communication. Products of this company are very safe and reliable in use. It also provides services in the fields of communication. Sanchartelesystems have highly trained motivated and qualified engineers in staff. This company also provides service to its esteemed customer’s on-time and every time for sold products. Making a better relationship with customers and customer’s satisfaction is our main motto.

Sanchar has global partners. Its partners are:

KENWOOD CORPORATION:

Started in 1946 KENWOOD is world leader in mobile radios .It has carved out a worldwide reputation as a leader in its field, based on its advanced technologies, innovative R&D manufacturing quality and superb reliability of its product in mission critical application.

EADS:

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defense, advanced radio communications solutions and related services. The Group includes the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the world’s largest helicopter supplier Eurocopter and the joint venture MBDA, the international leader in missile systems. EADS employs about 113,000 people at more than 70 production sites, above all in France, Germany, Great Britain and Spain as well as in the U.S. and Australia. Sanchar proudly associates itself with EADS for TETRA systems in India.

Q-MAC Electronics Pvt. Ltd:

Q-MAC Electronics Pty Ltd, a Western Australian based company, was established in 1994 in order to design, develop and bring to market a range of quality niche-market communications products.

Diamond Corporation:

Diamond Corporation Japan has been associated with us to provide excellent antennas to give enhanced permanence to our Radios.

Sanchartelesystems provide its equipments and services all around the India. It has many dealers all around the India such as Delhi, Dehradun, Haryana, Jaipur and Kanpur in Northern Region; Ahmedabad, Bhopal and Mumbai in Western Region; Bangalore and Channi in Southern Region; Bhubaneshwar and Kolkata Eastern Region.

Contect:

Address: 1522, 15th Floor, Devika Towers,

Nehru Place, New Delhi-110019.

Phone: +91-11- 4658894-97

Fax: +91-11- 46528889

E-mail: gupta.vikas@sanchartelesystems.com

For more details: http://www.sanchartelesystems.com

Improving the Reliability of Underwater Communication

Telemetry or wireless communication is the obvious choice, but radio does not work under water. As alternative, acoustic signals are prone to disruptions and sometimes complete failure. This highlights some of the major challenges with submarine information and communications technology (ICT).

Under good conditions currently available subsea modems can perform their role satisfactorily. However, when the hydro-acoustic conditions get worse due to interfering noise, varying multi-path propagations and other factors, communications may and often do fail. Even in calm seas, the stratification of the water body can cause severe signal reverberations and dynamic fluctuation of the channel properties, resulting in poor transmissions. Thus, a real innovation was needed to provide reliable wireless communication under varying conditions.

New approaches employ a continuous change of frequencies that not only serves to transmit information, but also to compensate for sources of interference, such as echoes and noise. Acoustic underwater modems that “sing” like whales and dolphins in the ultrasonic range are able to reliably transmit digital data over distances up to several kilometers with no data loss or harm to the environment.

This way, the signal energy is continuously spread over a wide range of frequencies and the signal structure is adapted so that the multi-path components do not interfere with each other. At the receiver side, advanced signal processing collects the energy and converts the received signals into narrow-band signals.

Sweep Spread Carrier (S2C) is a technology that continuously spreads the signal energy over a wide range of frequencies and adapts the signal structure so that the multipath components do not interfere with each other. At the receiver side, advanced signal processing collects the energy and converts the received signals into narrow-band signals. Taking advantage of the ultra-wideband sweep technology the subsea modems continuously determine the signal propagation time and Doppler shift with a high accuracy, which at the same time intrinsically provide the precise distance and relative velocity between modem pairs. Long and short-baseline positioning or tracking mobile systems (AUVs, remotely operated vehicles [ROVs], robots) are simplified.

Complex communication, navigation and monitoring networks can be established. Each modem is able to be individually addressed, and at each connection to another address it calculates the distance and relative velocity and evaluates the acoustic properties of that channel. Sharing these data with other nodes enables optimal traffic planning and routing in the network.

Affordable Communication with Internet Phone System

The Internet phone system is a technological advancement in business telecommunication that lets you make and receive calls using the Internet as your medium. Telephone lines and phone networks are not needed in this kind of telephone system. Internet telephones permit you to send and accept calls without using a telephone. You can use your computer instead of a telephone to facilitate calls. Apart from your regular office computer, you can also utilize smart phones, laptops and other Internet capable gadgets for this type of phone system. Internet telephone system also enables you to process voice mails and facsimiles, giving you a broader range in communication compared to plain old telephone systems.

One of the main advantages that your company can gain from employing the Internet phone system is that it helps you lower your telecommunication expenses. You will be able to save money on your expenses in communication because Internet telephone systems let you make and accept long distance calls at an affordable price. The price rate of its international call transactions will have the same asking price to that of a domestic call. Its communication charges are affordable because you will make the call via the Internet. Calls that are made on the Internet are billed at a local tariff instead of a long-distance rate.

Internet telephone systems would then employ the Internet and IP networks to transfer and route calls. This provides you with an inexpensive way of communicating with offshore customers. The cheap price charges of international call operations in an Internet phone system will persuade you to expand your target market. You will never be limited to conducting call transactions with clients within your locality. Reluctance and hesitation will not be felt when you communicate with customers based abroad because you know that it will not cost your company much money. It will also help you promote your company’s goods and services to offshore patrons without spending much cash.

The cost-effectiveness of international call charges of Internet phone systems will be helpful for companies that have multiple customers based on other countries. Its call charging also lets small and medium businesses have the same communication range that big businesses have. Calls that are made via the Internet are classified into three types: phone to phone, phone to PC and PC to PC connection. The several types of connections provided by the Internet phone system gives you options on how you would conduct your communication. Of the three, PC to PC connection is the most affordable because it is usually free of any call charges.

Caller ID, call forwarding, conference calls, voice mail inbox and Internet fax are some of the most popular services found in expensive corporate phone systems. These telecommunication features are also installed in the Internet phone system. With these modern features, you will never be left behind in communication. Internet telephone systems will keep you always updated in all the telecommunication features and services that are presently available. This ability of Internet telephone system will enable you to compete with multinational companies in a level playing field when it comes to communication.

Another major benefit that your business can gain from Internet phone systems is its superior voice quality. Your voice will be very much clear when you talk on the phone with your clients. You will not hear a choppy voice or any voice fluctuations.

Call transmission in Internet telephone systems are also faster compared to traditional telephones. This is because the Internet does not encounter the same problems that phone lines and the telephone network does. Busy and lost signals will never be experienced in an Internet phone system. There will be no delays in sending and receiving of communication transmission signals. Calls will be accepted as soon as they are made by customers and clients will be able to instantly receive any call that you make. This ability of Internet telephone systems empowers you to process several communication transactions. It permits you to attend to as many customer calls and concerns as possible.

?Meet a Growing Demand by Becoming a Computer and Communication Networking Professional

Computer and communication networking is a very intricate and important field. It involves the communication between computer systems or devices. A network is any set of computers or devices that are connected to each other with the ability to exchange data. The professionals who work in computer and communication networking are responsible for a number of tasks that ensure these networking are functioning smoothly. Now is a great time to become a networking professional, as Ontario is experiencing a critical need for properly trained graduates.

To become an expert in this field, a solid foundation is needed. Centennial College’s Computer and Communication Networking program allows students to be part of a select group to receive a four-year Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Information Sciences. It is the only post-secondary institution in Ontario to offer a bachelor’s degree program in Computer and Communication Networking. To apply, candidates must present at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with a minimum of six 12U, 12M, OAC credits or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. There are also minimum academic prerequisites, such as: English 12U and one from the following: Math 12U Advanced Functions, Math 12U Calculus and Vectors, Math 12U Mathematics of Data Management or equivalent. Possession of minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission to program.

Once you are accepted into the Computer and Communication Networking program, you will take courses in both business and technology. Some of these courses include: Computer Networking Fundamentals, Computer Architecture, Database Design and Modeling, Communication Technology and much more. All of the courses are offered in equipped classrooms and state-of-the-art laboratories that are specially engineered and feature VoIP, Cellular Networks, Wireless Broadband (WiMax), Advanced Routing and Switching or Network Management. Aside from the practical side of training, this program also offers a mandatory co-op option. During the 15-week co-op, students are placed with companies such as financial institutions, Fortune 500 organizations, IMB as well as private sector companies. A minimum C grade in ENG-110, minimum 2.0 GPA and minimum 80 per cent of year 1 and 2 courses required for COOP-221. During your studies, you can specialize in network security or wireless systems.

When graduates enter the field, they are prepared for a variety of jobs in computer and communication networking. These job titles include: project management analyst, IT program manager, technical account manager, business account manager, network administrator, network analyst and network support. Tasks vary among the different areas of computer and communication networking. For example, IT program managers are responsible for running complex projects or programs from design and development to production. They also define resources and schedule implementation, direct and oversee the project engineering team, perform assessments, as well design and maintain technical and project documentation. Meanwhile, technical account managers help customers make changes to accounts, such as updating payment and production information. They are also in charge of helping companies forecast revenue based on customer accounts. Yet anther job example in this field is a network analyst. This professional installs, lays out and maintains all network components. He or she plans, designs, analyzes and provides technical support for data communications and network or group of networks. The network analyst also conducts research and evaluation of network technology. The wide variety of computer and communication networking jobs ensures graduates do something that not only is profitable, but that also truly interests them.

Stop, Collaborate and Engage: Small Business Communication Tools for Entrepreneurs to Navigate the Social Media Seas

From smoke signals and carrier pigeons to smartphones and their ubiquitous apps, the way people interact across distances has drastically evolved. With each passing year, innovation appoints a new form of communication as revolutionary while decrying another form as passé.

During the past six months, you’ve probably learned what a “tweet” is and what it means to “friend” someone. Though both are interesting new forms of interaction, their applications to small business communication are less clear.

Twitter and Facebook are, at their most basic levels, additional channels aiding in small business communication. Like print or broadcast advertising, these social media initiatives allow a company to directly communicate with consumers. Though unlike advertising, these services allow for two-way communication where your audience – which includes customers, prospects, advocates, government entities and the general public – can respond. It is this engagement where many companies fall flat.

Kicking Off Your Social Media Initiatives

Simply setting up a Twitter handle and Facebook page does not plug you into the social media ether. Managing these accounts and consistently updating them is vital, so much so that many large companies are hiring full-time employees to man their social media initiatives. For entrepreneurs with limited time, there are many applications that can help you manage content for both services in one place, like Digsby (which has instant messaging integration as well), Brizzly or TweetDeck.

For entrepreneurs new to Twitter or other social media initiatives, the best approach is to do a few searches on words that are relevant to your business and try to find a handful of experts in your field to follow. Then, spend your first few days just “listening” to the conversation from these experts, resisting the urge to start singing the praises of your product or broadcasting your message. Once you get a feel for the kinds of things people talk about and how they do it on Twitter, start with the 2, 2, 2 rule. Post 2 original things, re-tweet two posts you find interesting or useful, and reply to two people about something they tweeted. This is a good way to be a valuable participant and to increase your “followers” number as people find the things you have to say to be useful.

For most entrepreneurs, a significant investment of time and resources strictly for social media initiatives is not feasible. Depending on a company’s level of commitment to increasing its small business communication efforts, social media may not be the right channel, right now. But, for those companies that can invest resources to examine the social media landscape, determine if it is right for their business and actively engage in dialogue, Twitter and Facebook can be powerful tools to grow their small business communication strategy.

Though Twitter and Facebook are good starting points, if these social media darlings are where your social media knowledge ends, you need to know about the many other small business communication technologies that allow entrepreneurs to interact with customers and engage prospects.

Oldies but goodies…

The social media landscape has significantly changed the face of small business communication, but it does not mean previous technologies have been rendered useless. “Old” technologies, such as e-mail newsletters, instant messaging and message boards are still active and can still increase productivity (and sales!). Many entrepreneurs already have a strong understanding of these technologies and have probably used them in the past. Consider dusting off that old e-mail newsletter you belong to – you know, the one you haven’t read in 2 years – or do a quick search of what message boards are out there. You may be reminded of and surprised at how useful these seemingly out-of-date services can be.

Some you’ve probably heard of, but may not know the full power of…

LinkedIn

LinkedIn has become the platform for business-focused social networking. By setting up a LinkedIn profile, users are able to post their work history and professional profiles for others to see. This tool presents opportunities for generating new business, reconnecting with old colleagues, and finding a job.

While many business users may have a LinkedIn profile, they may overlook the other small business communication tools LinkedIn provides. For example, LinkedIn Groups are a simple way to create an online forum where customers, prospects and industry insiders can exchange ideas. Similar to an e-mail newsletter, the Group allows invited LinkedIn users to interact with one another and for a company to communicate key messages. With some simple work on the front-end to get the group moving, an entrepreneur can then take a back-seat to let the patients run the asylum – while still maintaining his or her position as the group leader.

Wiki

A wiki (rhymes with tricky) is a website that allows users to edit the content that is posted on the page; the trick to wikis is ensuring the edits are accurate. Wikipedia, for example, is an editable online encyclopedia in which users can edit the content. The reason the information remains accurate is Wikipedia has designated individuals to monitor updates.

From a business perspective, a wiki is a great small business communication tool for companies with geographically distributed offices or teams. Users can post a document or other materials on an internal wiki and allow a group to review and edit the material in one place. Beyond the team collaboration, the wiki also helps with “version control,” a problem that occurs when some users do not have the most up-to-date version of a document. Microsoft’s SharePoint offers companies the ability to make internal wikis, as well as discussion boards.

Some small business communication tools you may not have heard of…

Yammer

Yammer is an enterprise microblogging service – think of it as Twitter for internal business communication. The service allows businesses to create their own internal communication channel and limit use to those who have a valid company e-mail address.

Yammer allows users to post questions, share news, ideas and documents, and post status updates to the entire group. This service allows short messages to be sent and for users to filter the messages they receive so they aren’t bombarded with information that is not relevant to them. Much like a wiki, Yammer allows distributed companies to communicate in a private community, only in shorter bursts.

Ning

Ning lets users create social networks around topics about which they are passionate. Do you love cheese? If so, you can create a cheese lovers community. Do you fear bunnies? Then you can connect with others who share your phobia. With Ning, you create the network that matches your life.

Why should an entrepreneur care about all these different social media initiatives? If your company produces gourmet cheese, that cheese lovers group is a new business goldmine. Are you a psychiatrist just out of med school looking to build a client base? The bunny-phobic network is a breeding ground for potential patients. Whether setting up a targeted social network or joining one already in existence, Ning can connect your business with others that share your unique passions.

What’s more, Ning has one of the more quantifiable ROI models of all social media. Ning’s premium service allows the administrator to run ads on its network (this service does require a fee, though). Not only could you run your own ads, you could potentially run ads from other members of your community, creating a quantifiable revenue stream from your network.

When it comes to social media initiatives, there is no magic bullet to grow your business. But there is a unique combination that is right for every entrepreneur. By balancing time and resources, and examining the social media habits of its customers and prospects, a business can develop a small business communication strategy that will accelerate growth.

Travel Industry Communication Trends

My, how our dictionary has changed. Podcast, Skype, Wikipedia, Googlebot and WiMax were all regularly used terms during 2005. Podcast was actually Webster’s Word of The Year for 2005.

 

That was then, and now it’s today. What was important and functional yesterday may not be the case tomorrow. There has been exponential change in relation to the calendar, in the field of communications technology advancement. What I mean by that is that the changes that have taken place over the past year or two have been far greater than the changes over the past decade, which in turn have been far greater than the changes over the past 20 years.

 

So let’s examine how the changing world can affect the Travel Industry.

 

The common thread among the terms above is that they either relate to wireless or internet technologies, or both.

 

John Campbell, a Consultant with Schooley Mitchell in Halifax wrote an article for The Nova Scotia Business Journal that described the experience of a Marketing VP. She was booking a trip through her travel agent and made a specific request for ‘hot spots’. As little as three years ago that probably would have meant the best beaches, bars, and restaurants. However, she was requesting the hotels where she could access the Internet through her laptop using wireless technology.

 

That lesson should be clear to the travel industry. If the loyalty and trust of clientele is to be maintained, a detailed knowledge of properties that provide high speed internet, wireless access, and up-to-date technology facilities will be paramount. The travel advisor that can help customers to provide real time information regarding property technology facilities, which change almost daily, will be a step ahead.

 

Those new technology advancements include a wide myriad of wireless applications. Whether it’s toll booth passes, debit transactions at the gas station, or text messaging updated flight status, the wireless world is upon us.

 

At a recent presentation I attended hosted by the Gartner Group, predictions included the ability to take temperature and heart rate with the wireless device that will soon be on the shelves, and therefore attached to your belt. Diabetics will be able to monitor blood sugar. You will be able to read bar codes, and check out right in the store. Your earpiece will tell you to turn left so you don’t get lost as you drive through the city. Some of these applications might actually free people to travel that have been restricted in the past. I don’t think the device will make your lunch or tie your shoes just yet, but perhaps I need to open my mind.

 

In terms of travel industry applications, SMS technology (Short Message Service), the telecom industry term for text messaging, has current capabilities that will soon be the norm for the mobile customer. Customer preferences are quickly turning to text messages for booking confirmations, last minute travel deals, and gate information for flights. Advisors that can adapt to these needs will have an upper hand.

 

Additional applications include the ability to provide welcome messages for customers upon their arrival at destinations, including local instructions. A text announcement of special events in real time, translation services advice, and a host of other interactive services will deepen the relationship between agency and customer for those savvy enough to use the technology at hand. It will be the tool to maintain ‘ownership’ of the customer in a world where web-enabled self-help is a continuing threat.

 

So does that mean we all have to learn that strange language of the text message crowd. I don’t think so. One of my personal pet peeves is the inability to properly use either the spoken or written word in today’s tech world. It seems to be a rampant disease. On the other hand, I never would have guessed I’d be using words like Wikipedia or blog. I guess we’re at the mercy of the wireless industry on this one.

 

However, as wireless functionality continues to evolve, it is my belief that screen sizes of the wireless devices we will carry in the future will increase. That in turn will allow for the proper use of the language as opposed to those short forms of words and phrases that are currently in use and mean almost nothing to the vast majority of the population.

 

Wireless vendors are in the process of initiating strategies to increase the uptake of wireless applications in the travel industry. That should indicate that more change will soon come, and the travel operators that embrace those technologies now will create an advantage. After all, consciousness of our own powers augments them. Ignoring them diminishes them. That assumes that the introduction of wireless strategies for Customer Relationship Management is within the suite of our powers.

 

In addition to wireless applications, increased Internet functionality will continue to shake the travel world, including Intranet, Extranet, and Enterprisenet, which are all variations of Internet business applications that have become widespread in the recent past to serve the needs of global economies.

 

We all know what the Internet is. It’s that big cloud, that big library, that big everything. It’s where the travel industry communicates with the public. Many websites include things like virtual tours, weather reports, currency converters, and special package information.

 

An Intranet is where a company can provide access to their employees or members to company information that is contained in a secure and private internet site, only accessible by those given access by the company. It’s a cordoned off piece so to speak, where only company participants can get in to see what’s there.  This is where companies can provide information and access to travel industry related applications like the Global Distribution System, Dynamic Packaging, internal software tools, travel safety updates, and any other information that helps each employee to operate more efficiently. It’s also where employees can communicate with each other in a group environment to help each other to increase profitability and deal with current issues.  It is like putting a company’s entire network on the internet and making it accessible to all stakeholders.

 

An Extranet is like an Intranet, except it includes outside parties and not just the internal company. Sharing information, applications, and communications tools with travel vendors and tour operators in real time is one example.

 

An Enterprisenet is where you actually transact with customers via the internet.

 

Interesting applications that are currently available include portals through the company website for customers to E-Book flights, hotels and vehicles. Also included are customer-driven fare search systems through the company site, flight status updates, and flight information and reservation systems. For example, flight status updates can be ‘pushed’ to a customer’s laptop or cell phone, or you can allow the customer to ‘pull’ the information from your system themselves. Access to Dynamic Packaging tools is another example of building deep relationships with customers, where they can customize their flight, hotel, and vehicle needs through the company’s applications.

 

Some of these examples are Extranet applications and some of these are Enterprisenet. It doesn’t really matter what they’re called, they simply reflect the new way of doing business that is upon the travel industry.

 

In a book titled ‘The World is Flat – A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century’, Thomas L. Friedman talks about the widespread changes to world economies based on technological advancements.

 

Friedman’s message centers around the fact that web-enabled and wireless technologies are ‘flattening’ the world so that basic business services such as call centers, back room accounting, and HR department management can be provided from India or China, just as easily as Vancouver. Restaurant reservations, income tax returns, and flower deliveries will actually be completed through Shanghai or Bangladesh, as opposed to New York or Chicago. The travel industry must understand the ultimate effects on booking plane, hotel and vehicle reservations in a ‘flat’ world. Deeper customer relationships will be required to thrive.

 

It also means that the world is the market and not just local customers.

 

Friedman’s message is not one of dire straits, although it does carry a warning that we need to be prepared, and educated to adapt to the inevitable changes that a ‘flat’ world will bring. Instead, the message is one of changing opportunities, and better efficiencies, if the reality is accepted, and the reaction is proper.

 

Yes, it’s a brave new world. In order to prosper, we must heed the message that no man’s knowledge here can go beyond his experience. In other words, embracing new technologies, and accepting ‘flatness’ will lead to opportunity. Opportunity, like oxygen must continually be exchanged. Once oxygen is taken into your lungs it turns to carbon dioxide. So as oxygen is the fuel of the body but has a limited life, opportunity is the fuel of success and future achievement. However, opportunity must be used before it turns to the metaphorical carbon dioxide.

 

So the message is to accept that these changes are upon us. The world will continue to develop more and more Internet applications to make the rudimentary parts of life easier to manage. Wireless applications will continue to develop and will astound us in terms of what can be achieved. And the world will be ‘flatter’. If that’s a problem it’s also an opportunity.

 

Maybe it’s an even bigger opportunity than an economic one for those wise enough to take advantage of the fluid and changing environment. One of Friedman’s tenets is that as the world supply chains become more intermingled and interdependent based on these technology advances, then the likelihood to war with each other will become less. If companies in one nation are dependent on companies in other countries to provide accounting functions, travel bookings, and day-to-day services, then it will be an encourager to work it out, instead of shoot it out. Now that’s a nice thought.

Metering Communication

In this era of communication, the metering domain is also engulfed in exploiting the advantages of various communication technologies to make meters smarter by integrating communication technology. As labour costs are increasing world-over, the drive is to have an infrastructure that, once in place, can do the job of getting metering data back to energy suppliers.

ESL India has successfully integrated various communication technologies, both wired and wireless with the energy meters. The wired technologies include PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network), DLC (Distributed Line Communication), PLC (Power Line Communication), etc. In wireless communication, GSM, GPRS, Radio (low powered) and CDMA are few examples.

These communication technologies serve as the backbone of the AMI initiative, now gaining momentum, which requires data to be transported back and forth between the meter and an in home device and the meter and the Data Collection Centre. This needs communications using Home Area Networking (HAN), Local Area Networking (LAN) and Wide Area Networking (WAN). ESL India has developed expertise in this arena using both Public and Private Networks.

Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)    : This kind of network is common in older installations. Communication is through the telephone exchange or Leased Lines.

GSM, GPRS & CDMA: ESL India leverages the latest communication technology for remote data collection over these networks by providing meters with in-built GSM/GPRS capability as well as integrated system. The data is collected over any of these media from a centralized data collection centre.

Distribution Line Communication (DLC): This is a means of transporting metering data to the collection centre through Low Tension (LT) power lines. This technology uses existing power transmission lines for data communication. In this case the data from the meters is collected by a concentrator in the LT line and then transferred to the Data Collection Centre through a packet switched network like GPRS.

Power Line Communication (PLC): This is a means of communication that uses low tension and high tension power lines to communicate information. It is based on the same principal as DLC, the difference being that it does not need individual data concentrators for every LT segment.

Radio: ESL has developed Low Power Radio (LPR) solutions for meter reading within licensed bands as well as license free ISM bands. These radio devices are used in LAN applications to interface with various home automation networks, thus facilitating optimum utilization of energy within the premises.

How Internet Communication Has Made The World Smaller

The history of the world, from one angle, is the ongoing story of how it’s gotten smaller and smaller in terms of travel and communication. As recently as the early 1800s, all travel and communication was the same thing – in other words, with the exception of the rare message-carrying pigeon, people had to take communications (letters, decrees, etc.) to their destinations the same way they got there, whether by boat between nations or across the U.S. on horses and wagons. In the mid-1800s, this started to change.

The railroads and the new telegraph technology matured at approximately the same time, with the railroads providing a coast-to-coast route starting in the middle of the century. As they went back and forth, the railroads carried the telegraph company workers that would place poles and string wire for intercontinental communication of the first kind. The telegraph was as dramatic a development in its time as the later telephone, television and computer. It reduced the time for news to get from New York to San Francisco from weeks to mere moments. This, in fact, changed everything.

Communications advantages

The advantages of instant communications are inestimable, and the role that the telegraph and later developments played in the 19th and 20th century growth of the U.S. was so huge as to be incalculable. Without communications that were swift and certain, this nation would never have grown the way it did. A hundred years after the railroads joined the coasts and the telegraph made communications almost instantaneous, the mid-1900s were awash in advances and inventions that were once again revolutionizing communication, like fax machines, live and recorded camera imagery and satellites.

The phone was everywhere. Television had grown from a novelty to a necessity in just 15 years, and now, in the postwar 1950s, scientists were making huge advances in “computing machines” and communications between and among them. By the 1970s, computations that used to take room-sized monstrosities were being solved by devices that fit on a desktop. Through the 1980s and 1990s, computer technology kept advancing, while communications technology also “went digital.”

Always on

Today, many people who take advantage of the instant communications offered by fax machines, e-mail, web-based faxing and texting, videoconferencing and the rest, do not even know how it all works. You couldn’t work at a time-sharing terminal in the late 1960s with programming knowledge. In the 2000s, five-year-olds were using PCs and browsing the Internet. The science gave birth to commodities, like today’s cell phones and 9 wireless computers. Talk really is cheap!

Returning to the shrinking world metaphor, we might as well say – with today’s faxes, Web sites, iPhones and all the rest – that communications capabilities are nearly limitless. They are definitely instantaneous. Nothing brings people so close as to send text messages in real time, or share a video chat over the Internet, or be connected to the technology wherever they are and with a variety of devices – phones, netbooks, laptops, iPods, fax machines, etc. Even technology from several decades past, like the fax, has a comfortable spot in today’s communications toolbox, with their low prices, ease of operation and ability to replicate a document for a distant viewer in what is still the fastest way.

What’s next?

The talk is now about virtual reality (VR) in communications, which in one version of the near future has us looking at holographic friends standing on our desktops (scaled down, hopefully!). Any number of companies are working on this right now. The introduction of this technology, or whatever will take its place, will happen the same way all the other advances have occurred – a first rollout that’s expensive, followed by everyone jumping on the winning bandwagon and competing to make the best and most affordable HoloPhone.

The advantages of the “smaller world through instant communications” should be evident to all. Greater efficiency means more work getting done by more people, and without restrictions based on geography or location. The ability to bring together teams from around the world to work together, even in real-time on a shared document, has changed the whole notion of teamwork. It has also helped create a world that even now has German cars being built in Alabama and American iPods being made in China.

Without the limitations of travel and distance, people have more time to collaborate with more people, and in more ways. The range of technologies – from old standbys like fax machines to the latest 3D imaging – is amazing, and what remains to be seen are how they will usher in not just a new era and further reduced world, but lead to even greater advances that knit people together ever more tightly.